Fastening device



July 6, 1937. G. MOORE ET AL FASTENING DEVICE Filed Dec. 2, 1935 6 6W L.%0J"6 and y Patented July 6, 1937 FASTENING DEVICE George Loop Moore and James Robert Steele, Owego, N. Y.

Application December 2, 1933, Serial No. 700,642

4 Claims. (01. 238-260) This application is a continuation in part of our pending application, Serial No. 692,570, filed October 7, 1933, now Patent No. 2,034,266 dated March 17, 1936.

Our invention relates to fastening devices and particularly to fastening devices for use in connection with railway track structures.

One object of our invention is to provide a fastening device which, when applied to the rail joint of a railway track structure, will automatically compensate for any wear which occurs between the splice bars and the rails and therefore retain the bars in constant contact with the rails at all times.

Another object of our invention is to provide a fastening device which when once applied to a structure will require no further attention to in-. sure the constant contact of the parts to which the fastener is applied.

The novel features of our invention will be more fully understood from the following description and claims taken with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a top view of one of our improved fasteners with a retaining key applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the fastener shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of a railway track structure having a rail joint provided with fasteners embodying our invention;

Fig. 4'is an enlarged view of a section of the structure shown'in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing the device 42 comprises a body portion 45 having its end 44 recessed at 45 and 46 for the reception of the retaining key 41. Shoulders 48 and 49 are formed at the end of the recesses 45 and 46, respectively, so as to retain the fastener in its assembled relation with the structure to which it is applied. These shoulders 48 and 49 are shown inclined to the axis of the bolt, and the surface 50 of the key which engage these shoulders when the key 41 is in its assembled relation is also inclined so that the surface 5| of the key is at right angle to the axis of the body portion 43. The other end of the body portion 43 is provided with a resilient portion 52 which is adapted to be distorted during the assembly of the fastener to a structure.

Most of the splice bars at the present time have alternative apertures of oval shape to receive the oval necks of the standard track bolts. To utilize our new type spring bolt with this type of bar we provide a filler piece 53 which is inserted between one side of the bolt shank and the end of the oval hole to maintain at all times the bolt parallel to the axis of the holes in the rail joint, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

In Figs. 4 and 5 we show an enlarged view of a portion of the rail structure shown in'Fig. 3 with oneof our fasteners 42 assembled therewith, the resilient portion 52 engaging the splice bar 54 and the body portion 43 extending through the aperture 55 therein and also through the elongated aperture 56 in the splice bar 51. A filler 53 is shown inserted in the aperture 56 along the side of body 43 of the fastener 42 adjacent its recessed end which contains the key 41, but, if the fastener is inserted from the side of the structure con.-

.taining the elongated opening, the filler will engage the side of the body 43 of the fastener adjacent the end containing the loop portion 52.

In assembling the fastener device 42 with a track structure, the splice bars 54 and 5? having been placed in their proper relation with the rail ends, the end of the fastening device, if it is to be assembled as shown in Fig. 5, is inserted through the hole 55 in the splice bar 54, then through the opening in the rail and through the elongated opening 56 in the bar 51. The fastener may, however, be inserted from. the other side of the structure in which case the end of the fastener is first inserted through the elongated opening 56 in the bar 51 and then through the opening in the rail and the opening 55 in the bar 54. If the fastener is inserted through the joint structure, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, the resilient portion 52 is brought into contact with the bar 54 and the filler 53 in the elongated opening 56 will engage the body of the fastener adjacent its recessedend and, if the fastener is inserted through the opening 56 and then through the rail and the bar 54, the resilient portion 52 is brought into contact with the bar 51 and the filler 53 will engage the body of the fastener adjacent the loop end of the fastener.

It has been found to be expedient when assembling a rail joint using our fastening devices to temporarily draw up the splice bars firmly into position with respect to the rail ends by means. of two or more ordinary track bolts and loosely applied nuts. Then effectively applying two or more of our fastening devices through the vacant holes of the joint after which the temporary track bolts are removed and replaced by our fastening devices.

The fastening devices are distorted during their application to the track structure, and have a tendency, due to their resiliency, to resume the condition from which they were sprung during their application to the structure. Therefore the fastening device will maintain a constant pressure on the members of the structure and constantly urge the bars 54 and 51 towards each other to automatically compensate for any wear which may occur between the rail and the splice bars and retain the members of the track structure in constant contact.

Our devices are so designed that they will enter the ordinary bolt holes in the rail joint and therefore are adaptable to be used in place of or to replace the ordinary bolts now used for holding the splice bars in assembled relation with the rails without in any way changing the construction of the splice bars or the rails.

From the foregoing it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that We have devised an improved fastening device which is simple in construction, which is easily applied to a track struc- 7 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: r

1. In combination with a track structure a rail joint provided with an elongated opening, a fastener element passing through said opening, said fastener element comprising an elongated body portion, a laterally extending spring end portion engaging one side of the joint, a retaining member at the other side of the joint and a filler piece intermediate said body portion and the end of the elongated opening to retain the axis of the body portion substantially parallel to the axis of the openings in the rail joint.

2. In combination with a track structure, a rail joint provided with a circular opening at one side and an elongated opening at the opposite side, a fastener element passing through said openings, said fastener element comprising an elongated substantially circular body portion, a laterally extending spring end portion engaging one side of the joint, a retaining member at the other side of the joint, and means intermediate the end of the elongated opening and the fastener to retain the axis of the body portion substantially parallel to the axis of the openings in the rail joint.

3. A fastening device for a rail joint comprising a resilient end portion adapted to engage a member on one side of the joint, an elongated circular body portion adapted to pass through an elongated opening of a member on the other side of the joint, a retaining member, and a filler piece adapted to be inserted intermediate said body portion and the end of the elongated opening, whereby when the fastening device is assembled with a rail joint the filler piece engages the body of the fastening device and retains the axis of said body substantially parallel with the axis of the opening through the joint.

4. A fastener for a joint structure provided with an elongated opening in one of the members thereof, said fastener comprising an elongated substantially circular body portion adapted to pass through the opening in the joint, a laterally extending spring end portion to engage one side of the joint and a retaining member at the other end of the fastener adapted to engage the other side of the joint, and filler means for insertion in the elongated opening adjacent the body portion of the fastener to retain the axis of the body portion of the fastener substantially parallel to the opening through the rail joint when the fastener is in its assembled condition with the rail joint. 7

GEORGE LOOP MOORE.

JAMES ROBERT STEELE. 

